Improving the learning and teaching of early reading skills - Estyn

Partnership with parents
Improving the learning and teaching of early reading skills
June 2007
83 Parents prepare children for reading long before they start school. For example, they
read stories, rhymes, labels and signs to their children, encourage them to look at
pictures and share books together. Many parents also continue to support their
children when they start school by sharing books and listening to them read.
84 However, there are pupils who do not begin their learning with these advantages. In
some schools, pupils have benefited greatly from programmes provided by the Basic
Skills Agency, such as ‘Language and Play’ (LAP), which supports early language
development in a play-focused context. Other initiatives, such as ‘Book bags’ for
babies and their parents also support a strong start in language development and
help foster an interest in books. These initiatives contribute well to pupils’ early
language and literacy skills by providing opportunities for children and parents to
enjoy and share stories.
85 Parents continue to play an important role when their children begin school. Most
schools value parents’ support and contribution to developing pupils’ reading skills.
Many schools hold meetings and workshops to explain to parents how they teach
reading and how parents can help their child. Many schools provide a range of
written information for parents. Staff also encourage parental interest in reading
activities, provide events such as book fairs and highlight the benefits of visiting the
local library. Most Welsh-medium schools provide some support for non-Welsh
speaking parents of pupils learning Welsh as a first language so that these parents
can help their child learning a different language.
86 Many schools use notebooks for teachers and parents to exchange day-to-day
comments about pupils’ reading. Sometimes helpful instructions are included about
the sharing of books as well as advice on how to determine the best time to read
together. Guidance such as ‘Find a quiet part of your home’, ‘Give regular praise and
encouragement’, ‘Don’t be anxious if your child has difficulty’ helps parents to provide
a suitable domestic and social context for reading. A small number of schools go
further by helping parents understand how children acquire reading skills and know
more about what to do when sharing books with their child. For example, these
schools provide examples of the type of questions parents can ask their child after
they have shared a book or explain how their child can become more confident at
using pictures to help to understand the content of the story.
87 In a few cases, schools provide opportunities for parents to observe teachers working
with pupils on developing reading skills. In these instances, feedback from parents
has been very positive. Parents feel more able to support their child because they
have a clearer understanding of how their child is learning to read.
The characteristics of effective partnerships with parents include:
recognising the important role that parents play in their child’s learning;
providing opportunities for parents and their children to benefit from language and
literacy programmes;
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